Mah Na Mah Na

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Chapter One
In the book it points out how literature in English has categories and having a knowledge of common literary elements such as conflict, rising action, falling action and character development is a must know. Compared to other literature in other subject such as science and history become frustrating to students, because it lacks the structure like literature in English. Which is very true, students typically feel frustrated when they cannot read the text assignments for class, thinking it is their fault, when in reality it is the teachers fault for not teaching the student how to read and comprehend different types of texts. Some of the strategies mentioned in chapter one can help students get over the fear of reading different text styles. Strategies like think-pair-share, learning stations, jigsaw, and reciprocal teaching.  I enjoy the strategy jigsaw. We did this is Dr. Hanna's class for an overview of a chapter. It was neat to interact with others in the group and then have a discussion afterwards. It gave time for an all around understanding to occur because the group was on our level, student level, and it took a complicated topic and presented it in a manor we could understand. I also like the idea presented about reflective teaching. I think that teachers should reflect daily or weekly on their teaching. Reflect on their teaching and how it can improve, not on the grades of their students or their students behavior, unless it is about what the TEACHER is doing regarding the behavior. Teachers should reflect on themselves as educators and how can they improve. 


Chapter 8
I like how this chapter points out that students learn how to write, but never really write to learn. We all learn our letters and how to spell words, form sentences, suffer through painful grammar lessons, and come out the other side as viewing the writing process as this painful experience, when in reality it should have been taught to be a wonderful learning experience. If students only view writing as a graded process, they never see the greener side of writing. My own experiences are a testament to that. I remember in 8th grade english class having to diagram sentences and label all of those phrases and such....I had no clue how to do it. It was like only having the Chinese directions to how to put a bicycle together. My teacher would tell me how, send me to my desk, where i would sit and stare at the page. Then she'd ask why wasnt i doing the work, i'd reply i dont know how....which usually got me in trouble for being a "smart butt". I'd sit and wallow in frustration and fail every assignment and test. It wasnt till i was a junior that i truly saw the beauty in writing. Thanks to my teacher, who was more focused on what we wanted to write, compared to the grade. She encouraged us to write and be free writing, not to worry about the mechanics of it. To just simply...write. That is one reason why i like the strategy of writing models, such as the I am poems the book mentions. This strategy encourages students to write following a model and to be expressive as they want. I also liked the power writing idea, because it is open and free and gives the student the chance to create something, as long as it follows the subject given. Free writing for students, is like giving younger children free color time or play time. Older students like their expressions and opinions and like to voice them loudly, but in school they typically do not get the chance to be expressive or free. By giving students free writing time, to just simply write, about anything and everything shows them the pleasures of writing. 


I enjoyed the atmosphere of the think center. It was very comfortable and neat there. I enjoyed how they did not have traditional seating or desk and actually had color on the walls and floor. 


Questions:
What would be some ways you could motivate students who do not want to write, to write?

Super Bowl weekend post..I only watch for the commercials

The first article, Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom, I really enjoyed reading. I like how at the conference all of the teachers went through each step of the process and talked about how they would then apply it to students in the class. I like how students weren't given a typical problem, they were given a real life problem and applied the process to this problem. Sometimes we avoid giving real life problems in the class because of the chance students will not be able to understand the problem or it would be to complex for the students. I also liked how the article talked about getting students to work through their problems as a group using the yes and strategy compared to saying yes but when something might be wrong or disagreeable. I like group work in the classroom. To me it builds a sense of community and gives students the chance to see others views and build on their knowledge. But. Some students..well...hate group work. Now i know hate is a very strong word, but some students just really really REALLY do not like group work. So what would you do with a student who does not like group work and refuses to work in groups? Put them in charge of writing ideas down on the board? Be a time keeper? Peace keeper?

The second article, Making a Case and place for effective content area literacy instruction in elementary grades stood out to me because it is rare that any focus is put on informational texts. It is usually literary elements and comprehension and fluency. Yes, all of these things apply to informational texts BUT the typical focus is on the general reading..not informational. I know from experience that students enjoy informational/expository texts. I read a book about dinosaurs in a kindergarten class and they thought it was the most awesome book ever and it was a great interactive experience! Students need to be exposed at a young age to such informational text, like the article says. By doing this students will have the chance to work on their skills that go hand in hand with reading informational texts and avoid having difficulties in higher grades. Teachers need to expose their students to information rich texts and encourage them to read and ask questions about such text. Providing students with the chance to reflect on what they have read and ask questions opens the door to multiple learning opportunities that are typically not provided by typical literary readings in the class.

Something the article mentioned that sparked an interest was the 4th grade slump. I didnt really understand how the grades would change from 3rd to 4th grade when the level of difficulty has been increasing since kindergarten. So a question i would have is Why does the level of difficulty change from third to fourth and why is it so drastic at this stage?